


pick up and start again

by zach_stone



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, First Kiss, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pre-Canon, Trapped In Elevator, this probably barely qualifies as angst tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 05:29:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16655092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zach_stone/pseuds/zach_stone
Summary: “This,” Hermann says imperiously, glaring at Newt from the other side of the elevator, “is your fault.”Newt whips around to face him so fast he almost loses his balance. “My fault?! How the hell is this my fault?!” He gestures wildly at the elevator door. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot it was my personal responsibility to make sure this piece of shit elevator is maintained so I don’t get trapped in it with the most annoying person in the Shatterdome —”“You’re always trapped with yourself though, aren’t you?” Hermann sneers, and Newt lets out a hysterical bark of laughter. This cannot be happening. Of all the times for the elevator to break down between floors, it has to happen now, when he and Hermann are in the midst of a fight that’s quickly blown itself out of proportion.--Newt and Hermann get stuck in an elevator, and are forced to work out some of their shit.





	pick up and start again

**Author's Note:**

> based on [this prompt](http://imagineyourotp.tumblr.com/post/80795295885/imagine-your-otp-stuck-in-an-elevator-after) from imagineyourotp on tumblr! i don't tend to write Conflict and Real Fights but this was a good step outside my usual schmoopy comfort zone. although... well, you'll see. ;-)

“This,” Hermann says imperiously, glaring at Newt from the other side of the elevator, “is _your_ fault.”

Newt whips around to face him so fast he almost loses his balance. “ _My_ fault?! How the hell is this _my_ fault?!” He gestures wildly at the elevator door. “Oh, I’m _so_ sorry, I forgot it was my personal responsibility to make sure this piece of shit elevator is maintained so I don’t get _trapped_ in it with the most annoying person in the Shatterdome —”

“You’re always trapped with yourself though, aren’t you?” Hermann sneers, and Newt lets out a hysterical bark of laughter. This cannot be happening. Of all the times for the elevator to break down between floors, it has to happen _now_ , when he and Hermann are in the midst of a fight that’s quickly blown itself out of proportion. Newt almost took the stairs down to the lab, and he’s starting to seriously regret not following that impulse. He slouches against the wall, dropping to sit on the floor. Hermann stares at him, bug-eyed.

“What are you doing?” he demands.

Newt pushes his glasses up to his forehead, scrubbing at his eyes for a moment. “Sitting down, man. It’s gonna be awhile before they get us out of here, if it’s anything like the last time this thing got stuck. Get comfy, bitch.”

Hermann scoffs, but he glances uneasily at the floor, a hand going unconsciously to his hip. Newt feels a stab of concern despite himself.

“D’you need a hand...?” he starts to offer, trailing off when Hermann glares at him again.

“I can manage myself, Newton, I am not an invalid,” he snaps.

Newt’s anger returns full force. “Whatever, Hermann.” He tips his head back and stares at the dingy ceiling of the elevator, yellow light against industrial steel. He hears Hermann easing himself onto the floor, and it takes all of his willpower not to say anything.

The fight was a stupid one — most of their fights are, Newt can admit that. Half the time there’s no real malice behind it, just pent-up frustration and fuses burnt too short from overworking and undersleeping. This time, they were in the mess hall eating a hurried lunch and bickering, and Hermann seemed more dour than usual. Newt somewhat flippantly remarked, “God, Hermann, would it kill you to get that stick out of your ass? No wonder nobody likes you.”

He’d meant it jokingly, of course he had, because for all his snarking and snapping, _he_ likes Hermann — he tries very hard to keep the extent of his feelings under wraps, but he thought Hermann knew enough to know he wasn’t being serious — but Hermann’s face pinched like he’d just swallowed a lemon, and he slammed his fork down on the table.

“No, Newton, I believe my lack of companionship is due to the fact that I have been essentially _shackled_ to a man who cares so little for anyone that he has driven _everyone_ in this bloody place away from us both.” Hermann’s voice was nearly a shout by the end of his little rant, and a few people were staring.

Newt was startled — Hermann’s usual dry sarcasm had been replaced with something that felt too bitterly real — and more than a little hurt. He knew he was abrasive, but come on, it’s not like Hermann was in the running for Shatterdome’s Most Socially Adept, either. Newt was under the assumption that they stuck together because they’re friends. Wasn’t that the reason they took all their meals together, left the lab at wee hours of the night together, followed each other around like bickering shadows? Apparently Hermann only stuck around out of some sort of resentful obligation. The thought soured in Newt’s stomach, and before he realized it he was rising from his seat, leaning across the table and spitting vitriol right back.

Their shouting continued out of the mess hall and down to the elevator, where Newt nearly stormed off to the stairwell instead, but that would have been too much like letting Hermann have the last word. So he stomped into the elevator after Hermann and slapped the button for the basement floor. They were about halfway down when the shuddering jolt stopped them short. Which brings them to now, sitting in fuming silence on opposite sides of the elevator.

Of course, Newt can only stand the quiet for a moment, and then he blurts out, “Do you _seriously_ think —”

“Newton,” Hermann says, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Enough.”

“No, it’s not enough. You seriously think I don’t give a shit about anyone but myself?” He means for it to come out scathing, but it mostly comes out sort of forlorn. He cringes internally, waiting for Hermann to tear into him again. Instead, Hermann opens his eyes and regards Newt with a guilty twist to his mouth.

“I don’t know,” he says shiftily.

“No one’s forcing you to be around me outside of the lab, you know. You’re more than welcome to go be a pissy jerk at someone else’s lunch table every day.”

“This is exactly the type of behavior I mean!” Hermann snaps. “If you find _me_ such a poor companion, why don’t _you_ leave?”

“Right now, I wish I fucking could!” Newt snarls back. Hermann’s jaw works angrily for a moment, and he twists away, folding in on himself. It’s so childish, Newt can’t stop himself from letting out an equally childish laugh. They’re both being assholes, and Newt has no idea why. This isn’t even the first fight they’ve had where they insulted each other’s personalities. Maybe Newt’s just been feeling lonely, and the idea that his literal only companion genuinely can’t stand him is a bit much to deal with right now.

They lapse into silence again. Newt shifts so he can lay on his back, hooking both arms over his face to hide his eyes in the crooks of his elbows. Thank God the elevator is sized to transport large pieces of machinery and tanks of kaiju specimens — there’s plenty of legroom, at least.

“Newton,” Hermann says after several minutes. Newt grunts, not removing his arms from his face. “Newton, look at me, please.”

“No.”

Hermann sighs loudly. “I’m trying to tell you… perhaps I overreacted to your comment earlier.”

“Yeah, you think?” Newt says. He settles his arms at his sides and shifts so he can peer over at Hermann. “What gives, dude? You can dish it but you can’t take it? You say shit like that to me all the time.”

Hermann looks embarrassed, refusing to meet Newt’s eyes and rolling his cane between his hands. “Yes, well. It was poor timing, I suppose.”

Newt frowns, trying to figure out what _that’s_ supposed to mean, when it hits him. The date. He’s lost track of time after pulling so many all-nighters recently, but — it’s been exactly six years since he and Hermann first disastrously met in person. Hermann must see the understanding in Newt’s expression, because his ears redden and he doesn’t say anything else.

Rolling onto his side and propping himself up on one elbow, Newt says, “I hadn’t even realized what day it was.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just drop it, Newton.”

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

Hermann groans, and Newt can’t help but smile a little. Hermann glances at him out of the corner of his eye, and Newt sees the begrudging smile he’s fighting to hide.

“I didn’t know you still… I mean, I didn’t know it still bothered you,” Newt says.

Hermann’s shoulders slump. “Of course it does. I lost perhaps my closest friend that day.”

His words set off that old ache in Newt’s chest, and he aims for levity. “I don’t know if you noticed, Hermann, but I’m right here.”

“It’s not the same as it was and you know it,” Hermann retorts. “You’ve made it perfectly clear how you feel about me now.”

Newt frowns. “Right, just like _you’ve_ made it clear what you think of _me_.”

“I’ve already said that was an overreaction.”

This stops Newt short, even as he opens his mouth to retort. He pauses, and then says slowly, “So… you don’t feel like you’re, how did you phrase it, _shackled_ to me?”

Hermann winces. “No. Let’s not talk about this anymore, please. It doesn’t matter.”

“You keep saying that, but it kinda does, dude,” Newt says, sitting up.

“Why?” Hermann says, and there’s something like agony in his voice. He’s staring at Newt, eyes wide and distraught, still gripping his cane in both hands so tightly his knuckles have gone white. “Why does it _matter_ to you, Newton? Is this just another attempt to remind me how pathetically alone I am, that my only company is a man who has lost all affection for me?”

“Jesus, cool it with the melodrama,” Newt interjects. “I’m not actually trying to be a dick to you right now, and I don’t think you’re pathetic.”

“ _You_ said no one —”

“Fuck, Hermann, _I_ like you, okay?” Newt exclaims, flinging his arms up in defeat. “You’re not the only one who’s still upset about what happened six years ago. You think I don’t miss how it was?”

Hermann’s mouth opens and closes a few times soundlessly. He sets his cane carefully on the floor and covers his face with both hands. Newt shuffles over on his hands and knees until he’s sitting directly in front of Hermann and cautiously places a hand on his arm. Hermann peers at him from between his fingers.

“I didn’t mean to cross the line earlier,” Newt tells him. It’s not quite an apology, but it’s as close as either of them gets.

Hermann smiles ruefully, lowering his hands to reveal a slightly red face. “I know. I’m perhaps a bit sensitive today.” He pats Newt’s hand, and Newt smiles back at him. The spell is broken when Hermann adds, “When you say you like me…”

“Oh god,” Newt says, wrenching his hand away. “Don’t be an asshole about this, _please_. Not while we’re stuck in this stupid goddamn elevator — speaking of, is anyone gonna come rescue us? We pushed the emergency button like twenty minutes ago.”

“Newton, for god’s sake, relax,” Hermann says. He still looks embarrassed, but also _amused_ , which Newt finds incredibly rude. He’s gone and accidentally shown his hand, and now Hermann’s never going to let him hear the end of it.

“Look, it’s not my fault I like you, okay?” Newt says, unable to stop himself from digging himself deeper into this hole. “Because don’t get me wrong, Hermann, you’re rude and condescending, and you’re mean to me all the time, but I kind of like that? Which, hello, awakening things in me I didn’t need to know about, I have you to thank for that too, you jerk.”

Hermann can’t seem to decide whether to be amused or appalled by the words spilling out of Newt’s mouth. Finally, he reaches forward and covers Newt’s mouth with his hand, effectively cutting him off mid-sentence. “Newton,” Hermann says again, slowly, and Newt swallows roughly at the way his name sounds rolling off Hermann’s tongue. His palm is dry but soft against Newt’s lips. “Calm down. Your feelings are not as, ah, one-sided as you seem to believe.”

“Huh?” Newt says, still muffled by Hermann’s hand.

“You are reckless, impulsive, and incredibly irritating,” Hermann says, and Newt rolls his eyes because, okay, he deserved that — turnabout is fair play and all that. “You are also my oldest and most valued friend, despite how things have changed between us. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I wish I’d done, if things had gone differently six years ago.”

Newt grabs Hermann’s hand and pulls it away from his mouth. “Like what?” he asks. There’s a lot of serious eye contact happening, and Newt is all too aware of how close they are. How isolated, just the two of them in this metal box for who knows how long. “We’re on the same page right now, right? I’m not misreading this? I’m dying, man, I can’t take all this talking-around-it bullshit anymore.”

Hermann hums thoughtfully. “You’re right,” he says with a little nod. “We should be up front about this.” And then he grabs Newt by the shirt collar and yanks him into a kiss. It’s off-center and messy, their mouths mashed together and Newt’s nose smushed uncomfortably against Hermann’s cheek, but Newt responds enthusiastically anyway. He grips Hermann’s forearm with one hand, the other sliding up to the side of Hermann’s face, and Hermann inhales sharply through his nose. By the time they finally break apart, they’re both breathing hard, and Newt’s glasses are askew. Hermann’s face is flushed, his mouth red and slightly shiny from the kissing. Newt’s stomach flips over.

“Is _that_ what you wanted to do six years ago?” Newt manages. Hermann laughs, breathless, and finally unclenches his hand from the front of Newt’s shirt, trying hopelessly to smooth out the wrinkles. “Stop, oh my god, come here,” Newt says, batting his hand away and leaning in to kiss him again, less frantic this time. At least, he intends for it to be less frantic, but then Hermann slips his tongue into Newt’s mouth and things quickly become heated. When they part again, Newt pulls Hermann close, hiding his face in the crook of Hermann’s neck. He feels warm all over, and Hermann is smoothing a hand up and down his back.

“I like you very much, while we’re being up front about things,” Hermann says quietly. “Not to say we won’t still fight — I confess it’s rather invigorating, and I believe you feel the same — but I… I do care for you, Newton.”

Newt grins, goofy and sentimental, and kisses the side of Hermann’s neck, eliciting a surprised huff of laughter. He lifts his head, looking into Hermann’s eyes. “I like you a lot, too. If that wasn’t obvious.”

“It’s nice to hear you say it anyway,” Hermann admits. Newt melts a little, leaning in to press soft kisses to Hermann’s cheeks and mouth.

Eventually, they’re rescued from the elevator, a full forty-three minutes after they first pressed the emergency button (Hermann keeps track). The Shatterdome maintenance workers are pleasantly surprised to find out that neither of them seem to have minded the delay.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! comments always so so appreciated. find me on twitter @hermanngottiieb if u wanna chat
> 
> title from "grudges" by paramore, a god tier newmann song


End file.
